Desert Echo
by RisingNight
Summary: Kurama considered having his other half transplanted to save Naruto, but he deemed it too risky. Of course, the plan he did wind up coming with wasn't much better. Poor Gaara, now he's stuck in the past and has to deal with a load of issues. Time-Travel Fic, Gaara
1. The Plan in Motion

"I won't let you. . ." Gaara yelled, "Have Shukaku!" The sand hands that he had made tightened their grip.

Shukaku's eyes widened. With a rush the memories hit him, the memories of one of his previous containers; an old yet kind priest. The memories then faded only to be replaced by a new one, a fresher memory. He couldn't help but remember when Gaara had thanked him. Even if it was for letting him meet Naruto, Gaara the human had thanked Shukaku the biju. It was an amazingly rare occurrence between the two species.

Noticing an attack heading for his former host Shukaku lazily raised a hand and blocked it. "My motto is Absolute Defense," the beast growled, "I have my pride as Shukaku!"

"I know. . ." Gaara muttered. His power over the desert hands wavered for a moment and the chain pulling Shukaku caused him to fly forwards. The second he was in motion the attack that he had been blocking broke through hand hit Gaara, sending the redhead flying a considerable distance.

"Gaara, don't overdo it," Shukaku warned, despite his dire situation; he was still being dragged inexorably towards the Gedo Mazo statue.

"I'm not a jinchuriki anymore. Finally," Gaara said, "I can stay up late as your equal!"

Shukaku's eyes widened as he was once again reminded of his former host, but a moment later he knew no more, having been absorbed by the statue.

Kurama observed the exchange from within Naruto and then quickly went over the situation again. 'One choice,' the fox concluded, 'But it's so reckless. Heh, maybe my host's behavior is starting to influence me. Well, it's worth a shot.'

"Gaara brat, I have something to ask you!" Kurama yelled aloud. Moving his chakra body as close to the sand user as possible he continued. "There might be a way to fix this. You need to enter the Gedo statue yourself once all of the biju have been absorbed."

"What about Naruto?" Gaara replied. "If you're extracted he'll die!"

"Part of the plan, but don't worry. Just trust me. Into the Gedo Mazo. Do you understand? Gaara!" Kurama roared.

Gaara gritted his teeth but nodded. With a slight smirk the Kyuubi released it's hold on it's host and sailed towards the Gedo statue. Not even looking at the falling form of Naruto Gaara jumped on his sand and used it to fly forwards. He knew that if he got a good look at Naruto he wouldn't be able to carry through with Kurama's request.

"What are you doing?" Madara asked curiously. "You can't honestly intend to fight me." Ignoring the god-wannabe Gaara continued until the Gedo Mazo was right before him, mouth gaping. Without even a second of hesitation he flew right in.

Madara gazed down at the statue's mouth. "Now why did he do that? No matter, he's only gotten himself killed. The Gedo Mazo turns things into pure chakra, so I suppose the addition of his insignificant power might even have made it a bit stronger."

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><p>The inside of the Gedo Mazo was dark, to say the least. The second Gaara entered the statue he started to fall and he knew that whatever the fox had planned, it wouldn't be pleasant for him. Still, if it meant he could save Naruto and everyone else then he was willing to endure it. The unpleasantness started only moments later. It started with the chakra in his sand breaking down as it was absorbed by the surrounding darkness, and then it spread to his actual body. It was excruciating, the feeling of his body disintegrating. It went of for what seemed like hours until only his face was left and any thoughts of Kurama's plan had been purged from his mind. Annoyingly enough, the process had failed to kill him despite destroying all of his internal organs and basically everything else.<p>

'It should end soon,' Gaara though as his face began to disintegrate. Closing his eyes he waited until they disintegrated as well, and then he waited yet longer as the last fragment of his face which contained his scarlet tattoo disappeared too. The second his body was gone shit started to get serious. While he lacked a body Gaara found that he was able to keep his conscious mind together, but his hold was quickly slipping. In a mere minute he would lose control and truly die.

He would have died. He _should_ have died. But he didn't. Moments before he gave up he felt a swell of chakra from below him, a swell of Kurama's chakra. It was swiftly followed by some of Shukaku's, and then the power of the rest. In an instant he was engulfed in the power of the biju. He senses were shot, seeing as he had no body, but even still he got their message. 'Good luck.'

* * *

><p>Sasuke Uchiha was sitting outside looking at the rainy sky, pondering his vengeance. It had been years since his clan had been killed but his rage had not dimmed in the slightest. 'Three more years,' he thought to himself. 'That's when my class graduates. Ch, wonder if that blond idiot will graduate by then?'<p>

His thoughts were dark considering his meager age of nine, but then again he had been through a lot. He was prepared for anything, or that was what he told himself. One way or another, he would deal with anything that came his way until he finally reached the point where his brother was before him. As if echoing the sentiment the clouds above crackled with lightning as thunder roared across the normally scenic city of Konoha.

After a minute of basking in the moment, Sasuke looked up and started to wonder just what exactly was happening. For a full minute arcs of lightning had been shooting across the sky and they showed no signs of stopping. A full five minutes later something new finally happened. Narrowing his eyes Sasuke saw something falling from the sky. He raised an eyebrow, adopting an expression of curiosity. Said curiosity quickly turned to fear as he realized that the falling object was heading right for him. scrambling away he barely managed to avoid the projectile which impacted the earth with a force great enough to send tremors echoing throughout Konoha.

Once the dust had cleared he slowly crept forward to gaze into the hole. He was greeted by the sight of a naked and strangely uninjured redhead with a tattoo of the Kanji for love on his forehead. 'Karma,' he concluded. He might have said he would deal with anything that came his way, but this was really pushing it. 'Eh, the Hokage can handle it.'

* * *

><p>In much the same way that Sasuke had come to his conclusion about Karma, Hiruzen Sarutobi had just come to his own conclusion. 'I really am too old for this,' he though as he stated down at the crater. It was still raining and it had been approximately thirty minutes since the. . . impact? That was certainty what had happened, but he wasn't the Third Hokage for a reason. No, this was no ordinary case of a naked teenager falling from the sky (they had more of those than you might expect), this was much more.<p>

'I wonder how much paperwork this will cause?' Hiruzen mused. Sighing he turned to the ANBU standing at attention around him. "Take the boy to the hospital, but keep him under constant supervision. Try to identify him, run blood tests any anything else that might help. Make sure he gets a pair of clothes and alert me when he wakes; he's not allowed to leave his room until I have had a chance to speak with him."

"Hai!" the ANBU replied in unison as two jumped into the crater to retrieve the body and the rest went to inform the necessary parties.

'A lot,' the Hokage concluded. 'This is going to produce a lot of paperwork.'

* * *

><p><strong>(AN: Well now, this should be fun. So, what do you think, like the idea? So incase you didn't get it, Gaara has traveled back in time to three years before Naruto and Co. graduate. So, what'll happen now? How did he get into the past anyways? Can the Kurama of this time help him? What about himself, are there now two of him and what would happen if they met? Ah, so many questions to be answered. Stick around and you'll get to find out. In the mean time, please review!)**


	2. Welcome to the Leaf

Gaara slowly opened his eyes to find himself looking at darkness. 'No, a blindfold,' he thought. "Where am I?" he asked aloud. After several minutes passed he concluded that he wasn't going to get an answer. 'I entered the Gedo Mazo statue,' he recalled. 'So where am I? That doesn't help at all. . .'

'Wait. . . Kurama told me go into the Gedo, so this is a part of the plan. But what is the plan? It would have to be a plan to defeat Madara and the Juubi or to save Naruto. Those are the only two possible objectives. So then. . .'

Gaara's though were interrupted when he heard someone clearing their throat next to him. He didn't flinch, but he was surprised. 'They must have chakra suppressant seals on me,' he concluded.

"I am awake," he said in answer to the presence.

"Who are you?" the voice asked. It was an aged voice, clearly not someone youthful. 'I've heard that voice before,' Gaara wondered, 'But it's no one I know very well. Still, I know I've heard it.'

"My name is. . . Gaara," he said, deciding to omit his last name for the time being. "I am willing to answer your questions, but would you please answer a few of mine first?"

"You're not really in a position to be asking questions," the voice pointed out. Deciding to just go for it, Gaara forged ahead.

"What is today's date?" he asked. The voice was silent. A full minute later it spoke up.

"Today is the Thursday the 23rd of March in Sixty-Sixth Year of the New Era."

'The Sixth-Sixth! But that would mean,' Gaara's eyes widened but his would-be interrogator couldn't see it because of the blindfold that covered Gaara's eyes, 'That I've been sent back in time. The New Era system was instituted with the creation of the Hidden Villages, Year One of the New Era being the year that Konoha, Suna and Kiri were all founded. So if I'm in year Sixty-Six then that means I've been sent back. . . eight years. Was this Kurama's plan, to have me stop the War before it could start?'

"Where am I?" he asked, not giving away the thoughts he was currently wrestling with.

"What interest do you have in Konoha?" the voice asked, both answering Gaara's question and posing it's own.

'Konoha. It makes sense. Still, that leaves the question of the me of this time period. I wonder. . . no, there are more important things. First off. . .'

"At the moment I have no interest, but that may change. I take it you are the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi?"

"Indeed," the now identified Hokage answered and his brows furrowed. This would be interesting.

* * *

><p>The night before, after dealing with the falling teenager, Hiruzen was relaxing in his office when an ANBU flared their chakra requesting entrance. Responding in kind Sarutobi gave his approval and an ANBU appeared before him holding out a file.<p>

Accepting the file Sarutobi flipped it open to reveal a picture of the child who had fallen from the sky, some test results and what he assumed was a medical report. The thing that immediately drew his attention was the statistics.

_Chakra Level: Kage (High)_

_Upper Body Muscle Development: Jounin (Average)_

_Lower Body Muscle Development: Jounin (High)_

_Estimated Speed Level: Jounin (Average)_

_Estimated Physical Strength: Kage (Low)_

_Estimated Stamina: Kage (Extreme)_

_Estimated Threat Level: Kage+_

Glancing at the medical report only confirmed his doubts.

_Basic Information_

_Sex: Male_

_Estimated Age: Seventeen_

_Height: 5" 5'_

_Weight: 112.215 lb._

_Blood Type: AB_

_The patient has no notable wounds or scars but the overall body development points towards a shinobi lifestyle. The patient has exceptionally high chakra levels, but there is a second chakra within his body. The chakra is similar to that of the Kyuubi, but slightly different so it most likely belongs to one of the other Bijuu. There are only trace amounts, but they are inside his body so they did not originate from simple contact with a Jinchuriki. Most likely the patient engaged a Jinchuriki in combat and was wounded during the fight, and that was how some of the chakra made it's way into the body. The patient bears no scars of such a wound, but the patient also seems to have a very quick rate of healing. (ANBU Boar dropped him by accident and caused several brush burns, but they disappeared within minutes)_

The rest of the report was more explanation about some simple tests that they had run on him, but he paid it little heed. 'Just who is he? Kage level at seventeen? Not even Itachi made that type of progress. The real question is if he poses a threat to the village. . .'

* * *

><p>Back in the present, Hiruzen sighed. "It's obvious that you are not only strong but also intelligent. Unfortunately I cannot release you until I am certain that you pose no threat to this village. I need you to prove that to me."<p>

Gaara was silent for several minutes. 'I'm on a bed,' he thought. 'The temperature is slightly cold, but that may be because of the season. Besides that I have a blindfold on and am restrained by both chakra seals and some physical restraints. Odds are that I'm in ANBU HQ; that's certainty where I would put someone of my threat level should they turn up in Suna.'

"Are we alone?" Gaara asked. "I would prefer as few people to know what I'm about to say as possible." There was a momentary pause but then. . .

"We are now alone."

"Very well," Gaara responded. "Where to start? Like I said, my name is Gaara. I am the son of the Fourth Kazekage and I myself am the Fifth Kazekage. I have been sent back in time my the Kyuubi, or Kurama, because we are currently in the process of losing the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Before I go farther, do you have any questions?"

A moment after he asked the question he felt his blindfold being removed. Opening his eyes he stared into the face of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the 'God of Shinobi.' It might have been scarier if he hadn't just come from fighting Madara Uchiha, a shinobi who might or might not _actually_ be a god.

"Is that true?" the aged Hokage asked.

"Yes," Gaara responded. "I can answer some questions about it."

"I see," Hiruzen responded as he relaxed into his chair. Gaara took the chance to look around and to his surprise found that he was in a hospital.

"Which villages is the war between?" Sartutobi asked.

"None, actually. The war is taking place between the ASF and the Akatsuki. ASF stands for Allied Shinobi Forces, and it is an apt name. The Force is comprised of the best shinobi from all five of the villages. Still, the Akastuki force isn't to be taken lightly. It is primarily made up of Zetsu clones infused with the DNA of the First Hokage, but the army also contains a sizeable number of Edo Tensei. Actually, you yourself participate in the war as an Edo Tensei."

Sarutobi tensed at the last part, but then he relaxed. "And you've been sent back to prevent the war?"

"From what I understand," Gaara responded."

Sarutobi closed his eyes. "You're telling the truth," he sighed. "I can tell." Reaching out he removed the chakra suppressant seals. "If you need Konoha's help, don't hesitate to ask. But I must know, what are you going to do first?"

"I have to see what has happened to the me of this time, but after that I can't say. I'll go where I'm needed. I will return at some point, but I don't know when."

"You may go then," Sarutobi said as he removed the physical restraints holding Gaara back. Standing up and stretching Gaara nodded his thanks. Just before he exited the room he turned around once more.

"Oh, incase I don't return before then, be careful when you next host the Chunnin Exams. Orochimaru will invade with the help of Suna. I will see if I can't change the second part of that, but that is the way it happened in my time. Either way, Orochimaru will most likely invade. In my timeline you died in combat with him; it would be a pity for that to happen again."

With that he opened the door and formed a Ram seal. One shunshin later and he was outside the hospital. Walking through the streets of Konoha he received several odd looks, most likely because of his red hair and hospital gown. 'Once I get out of town I need to remake my gourd and infuse some sand with my chakra. From there I need to get to Suna as quickly as possible."

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard an explosion to his right. Looking over he noticed a wall of blue racing towards him but managed to dodge into the air. Landing on the roof of a nearby building he looked down to see a blonde head retreating from the now-detonated paint bomb. A yell of, "Got ya!" echoed back and Gaara sighed. 'How did I let someone like him defeat me?' he wondered to himself. 'He is stronger than he looks, thought.'

Gaara's last two thoughts before he left the village where about Naruto. the first was, 'Perhaps I should return sooner than planned, there might be something I can do for Naruto.' The second was, 'It would be hard for him to be weaker than he looks, what with the neon-orange and all.'

Those thoughts in mind, Gaara struck out from Konoha on what was going to be the most important mission of his life.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN: Say, does anyone know how time is actually measured in the Narutoverse? Eh, well, anyways, thanks for reading and please review!)**


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